E-mail my parent's received

My parent's got this e-mail. My Dad (who used to be GOP, but is voting for Kerry) was thinking of following the instructions in this e-mail, until I told him to be very careful regarding e-mails sent to trick people into messing up their votes.

Does this sound legit or like a scam?

-------
Fellow New Yorker,

In New York, John Kerry will win the Presidential election. That's good.

What will make it better is a good chunk of his vote coming in on the Working Families Party line, Row E.

Many of you may already know about the WFP. For those who don't, it's a coalition party dedicated to issues of economic, social and environmental justice. It's a party that opposes the "winner-take-all" mentality that dominates our nation.

A vote on the Working Families line COUNTS JUST AS MUCH as a vote on the Democratic line, but carries a little extra punch. Think of it as a vote not just for Kerry, but for living wage jobs, public education, universal health care, and affordable housing. Think of it as a vote for decency.

PLEASE - if you're voting for Senator Kerry (and EVERYONE reading this should be!) - please vote for him on Row E/WFP. Just look for the Working Families logo on the ballot. It's the Good Housekeeping Seal for progressive-minded voters.

Thanks!

Bob Fertik, Co-founder
Democrats.com

p.s. If you like this idea, how about sending this note around to your e-mail friends anywhere in New York State? Every vote counts.
--------------


Sounds a bit fishy to me, but I am in CA and we didn't have the WFP on the ballot.

Having the headers sent me to right now. Thanks!

Return-Path: <bounce1@democrats.com>
Received: from rly-xm03.mx.aol.com (rly-xm03.mail.aol.com <172.20.83.104>) by air-xm03.mail.aol.com (v103.7) with ESMTP id MAILINXM32-5fe418675eb12b; Mon, 01 Nov 2004 12:44:24 -0500
Received: from democrats.com (democrats.com <207.188.221.246>) by rly-xm03.mx.aol.com (v103.7) with ESMTP id MAILRELAYINXM34-5fe418675eb12b; Mon, 01 Nov 2004 12:44:12 -0500
From: "Democrats.com Activist" <activist@democrats.com>
To: XXXXXXXXXXX
Message-Id: <20041101110723.193040@democrats.com>
Subject: NY: Vote for Kerry on Working Families Party Row E
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2004 11:07:23 -0500
Reply-To: activist@democrats.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-AOL-IP: 207.188.221.246
X-AOL-SCOLL-SCORE: 0:0:0:
X-AOL-SCOLL-URL_COUNT: 0

Received: from democrats.com (democrats.com <207.188.221.246>) by rly-xm03.mx.aol.com (v103.7) with ESMTP id

* Dns resolving 207.188.221.246
-
* Dns resolved 207.188.221.246 to democrats.com

New York is a Fusion State which means a cnadidate can run for office as a representative of more then one party and then the candidate will get the votes of all of the parties. If Kerry is on the ballot as the candidate for this party you can endorse the values of this party while voting for Kerry (the vote will count as if you are voting for Kerry same as if you votede Dem).

I am running as a fusion candidate in SC for State House Seat 75 as a Green and United Citizen's Party candidate.

Vote Kenneth F. Styer- SC State House 75!!!

go get em tomrrow!

:dem:

Not sure because I haven't seen a ballot from NY, but this same kind of thing gets floated around here. It seems to be an attempt to get people to vote a straight party ticket by checking a party box other than the one the person might be voting for.

In OK, if you check the straight party box, it registers as a vote for every candidate from that party, invalidating any other choices. Some states toss the entire ballot if both a straight party box and individual choices are made. Actually, I think OK may do this now, but I'm not sure. I avoid straight party voting. There are a few Dems in OK that I wouldn't vote for if paid to do so.

and an excellent idea.

In New York candidates can run on more than one line.

The Working Families Party is excellent and almost always cross endorses democrats.

Check out their website: http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/

In this election, every Democratic candidate at the state level anyway is cross listed on WFP line. It's also true in most (maybe every) local and congressional race too.

I always vote for the candidate on the WFP line if it's cross-endorsing a Democrat.

The party being legit doesn't make this a legitmate tactic.

It'd be kinda stupid to try to get people to alter their ballots by asking them to check a box that doesn't exist.

It is not only legit. As the message notes, the WFP has its own line on the voting machines. The "box" is a series of levers. and they certainly do exist!

Every vote for Kerry, no matter which line it comes from, goes to the total number of Kerry votes for NY State.

If you say so.

As I said, I've seen this kind of thing in OK, and it's always a part of some effort to invalidate ballots or votes for specific candidates. But, admittedly, I'm not familiar with New York election laws.

I was looking at a friend's absentee ballot (he's in the hospital.)

Why is that next to the Democrats there is a picture of a rooster and a picture of an eagle? What kinda crap is that???

The rooster is a national party symbol. "Tell Chapman to crow!" It came into being in the 1840's in Indiana and spread after that. AFAIK, it's still an official symbol, even though the donkey has taken over as the popular symbol.

Here's a pic of one of the original stuffed roosters carried around at rallies.

http://www.hancocknews.com/Pics/Rooster,%20Democrat.JPG

it before. I'm too focused when I'm filling out my ballot. Trying not to make any mistakes. Thanx for the info, tho. :)

It's actually a victory symbol.

And I know about it because I'm related, distantly, to the person with whom it originates. :-) His name was Joseph Champman.

One of his decendants ended up in Ada, Oklahoma -- thus my connection; Chapman grave sites are close to my grandmother's grave -- around the turn of the century. Here's the text of a letter he sent to the editor of the Hancock Democrat, the paper in which the symbol first appeared, briefly detailing the origins.

Ada, Oklahoma, April 12, 1907

"John F. Mitchell, Editor Hancock Democrat, Greenfield, Indiana.

"Dear Friend and Pupil: - I am located in this city and have been for seven or eight years. I am now 73 years of age and in fairly good health. My brother, W.W. Chapman, is in Allen, Tex., now 71. Mrs. Caroline Chapman, widow of William Chapman, lives here at the age of 81. T.J. Alley (Tom) who has for ten years been exploring the Holy Land, paid me a visit from Jerusalem, Palestine. He is past 80. Doubtless you remember all of these parties as from Greenfield or Hancock County.

"I send you a clipping from the St. Louis Republic concerning the origin of the rooster as an emblem of the Democratic Party. The question has been raised often, and again and again answered that Joseph Chapman, of Greenfield, by his great efficiency in imitating the crowing of a rooster, started the scheme rolling. This is error, as my father never crowed like a rooster. I visited Greenfield in 1886 or 1887, I think, and during my visit Judge Gooding gave a statement to me in writing as to the origin of "Crow, Chapman, Crow!" and told me to consult the files of the Indiana state Journal of April, May or June, 1840, and the original letter that gave rise to the matter would be found. I sent Willie Mitchell a newsboy of the Democrat to consult the files and Gooding’s letter and the Journal’s statement were published in the Hancock Democrat while William Mitchell was still living.

"Now in the interest of historic accuracy I request to examine your files and reproduce the article in question that a matter of historical importance (politically) be corrected and set at rest.

"I would appreciate a copy of the Democrat if the item appears,

"Respectfully,

M. V. Chapman."

There appears to be some controversy about whether Chapman could actually crow like a rooster. :-)

I'm always looking for the origins of things.

BTW, look for a private message from me here soon. We may have some acquaintances in common. :)

it ought not even be given air-time or bandwidth here.

-- Allen

P.S. Welcome to DU, Milo!

You might want to check with a fellow New Yorker who knows the voting system to make sure though.

if you punch out all the holes EXCEPT John Kerry, it's like 58 votes for Bush!!!

This is completely legit. Kerry is on the WFP line. NY doesn't have a straight party box to check. In Westchester county we have the old lever boxes where you have to lift the lever for each individual candidate. It makes total sense to vote for Kerry on the WFP line.

Upstate NY, Saratoga County. I have never, including my votes when I lived in NYC, ever voted on anything but the old, mechanical, lever types. You can vote straight ticket, mix your ticket, not vote for someone. All counts. No worry, but I still wouldn't respond to the email.

I am so on edge and ready for scams that I am seeing them every where I turn and everytime someone asks me a question, I am sure some Wingnut is trying to pull something!

1..... more...... day....... ARGH!

They are trying to get ballots thrown out for a double vote, or a vote for their party due to a confused voter. Do not do what this e-mail says.

as explained elsewhere, in New York candidates can be listed on more than one party line.

You can only vote for the candidate on one line; there's no way to "overvote" on the lever machines used in the vast majority of NY State counties anyway.

Voting for Kerry on the WFP line goes towards his overall NY State total.

But with all the voter fraud that has been reported, Hell my wife received one saying Republicans vote on the 2nd and democrats on the 3rd. It came from a legit looking e-mail address and everything. but it is not. That one just did not sound right to me. And this election means so much.

Regardless of what I read here, and on the other thread.. it's too important to mess with. Vote for Kerry in the traditional spot. If it's from Democrats.com, then you should be able to verify it immediately. (I'm not sure about the return addy being "bounce1@democrats.com"). That seems odd. DO check it out with them... and confirm. It's TOO important to mess with. Unless someone really knows and supports the other party, then why would you throw your support that way?

A candidate can run on more than one party line in NY state. You can vote for Kerry as a Dem or as a WFPer and it counts towards Kerry's election.

As a member, I received the same email and will vote for Kerry tomorrow under the WFP's line.

BTW, you should ask your dad to look into the WFP. They're one of the few third parties I approve because they know how to get things done. When they need to work with Dems, they work with Dems. When they don't, they don't. And they were instrumental in getting an increase in the minimum wage out of the NY State Legislature.

some folks sounding like this got me to sign a petition at a grocery store and turned out they were fundies or something weird

Fertik will waste them

once again, you're sounding the scare alarm over nothing

showing this is legit

You might try clicking on them. I apologize for not pointing that out but I figured a lawyer and investigator with 30 years experience would know how to click on a link

to the Working Families Party:
http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/

Check out their positions on the issues; check out their electoral strategy.

It's called fusion voting:

Fusion, once legal in all states and commonly practiced throughout the country, occurs when a third or minor party combines forces with a dominant party or other smaller parties to run a single candidate on multiple party lines. It makes possible something that many citizens wish they could do: to cast a protest vote that counts without throwing the election to the candidate they find least desirable.

Fusion also allows minor parties to demonstrate in clear, measurable terms, the level of support they provide to a candidate, thus giving them greater influence with candidates, elected officials and major political parties in policy and legislative matters. Also, minor parties that use their ballot line to endorse the candidate of another party are powerfully motivated to educate, persuade and turn-out voters. Thus fusion becomes a tool for promoting greater participation in the electoral process as minor parties mobilize the electorate to achieve their aims.

The Working Families Party nearly doubled their vote from cross-endorsing the Democrat in both the 1998 and 2002 governors' races, from 51,325 to 90,533. While the Green strategy is to build an independent alternative opposed to both corporate parties, the Working Families strategy is to be a force in the Democratic Party. Working Families got the endorsement of a number of prominent liberal academics and publications like The Nation and its institutional base of affiliates is substantial, including ACORN, Citizen Action, and a number of central labor councils and union locals from SEIU, Teamsters, UAW, CWA, AFSCME, UNITE, and others.
http://www.ippn.org/article.php?ID=sprnews03d.html